


The Thousand-Piece Puzzle of Life

by baloobird



Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [12]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Almost 5k of Puzzles and Ace Feelings, Anti-Starker, Asexual Peter Parker, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, SO MUCH FLUFF, Self-Discovery, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/pseuds/baloobird
Summary: Tony and Peter can't sleep so they spend their night putting a puzzle together, filling the void with small talk, laughs, and self-discovery.It's a conversation neither one will ever forget.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker (mentioned), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750639
Comments: 45
Kudos: 335





	The Thousand-Piece Puzzle of Life

**Author's Note:**

> I have no explanation for this except that I just wanted to write Tony and Peter putting a puzzle together 😂
> 
> Oh yeah and I made it ace LOL, I hope you enjoy!!! 💜💜💜
> 
> I rated this Teen due to sex talk.

More often than not, Tony can be seen wide awake in the mornings at around three o’clock.

He has no clue how this got started. He had actually been sleeping better for a change and then he woke up one night around that time and his body turned it into a routine.

He’s learned from past experience that just laying in bed isn’t going to do shit so the man gets up and makes his way to the kitchen, heading directly for the cupboard that contains the “nightly calm” tea bags.

The jury’s still out on whether or not it actually works but it’s all he’s got. No way in hell will he stoop so low that he’d ever willingly drink decaf coffee.

He brings his kettle to the sink to fill with water but before he turns on the faucet, he takes notice of a dim light in the doorway leading to the living room. 

Maybe it’s Rhodey, the hero thinks, his best friend has a tendency to come in late after missions or duties regarding the President, so arriving at this time isn’t uncommon.

Curiosity getting the best of him, the billionaire puts the kettle aside and walks to the light source, peeking into the room.

To see not his best friend, but instead his sixteen-year-old spider-boy, sitting on the floor in between the coffee table and the couch, looking like he’s putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

At three o’clock in the morning.

_ Yeah,  _ that’s _ totally normal. _

Tony clears his throat from the doorway, making his protege jump and turn to him, eyes widening in surprise, “Oh…hi.”

“You’re putting a puzzle together at this time of night and all you can tell me is ‘hi’?” The mechanic asks, giving him a cheeky grin, his plan of getting tea now forgotten, “And how’d you not hear me coming, is your ‘Peter Tingle’ broken or something -”

Peter cuts him off with a groan, “If I hear that name one more damn time, I’m gonna scream, and besides, it’s used for  _ threats, _ and you’re not near as threatening as you think you are -” 

_ “Shh, _ that’s supposed to be a secret, you little shit,” his mentor says jokingly, briefly ruffling his kid’s hair as he walks around the coffee table. He sits on the floor across from him, crossing his legs under the table, and studies the project in front of him. The kid’s not that far into the puzzle with only two sides of the border connected so the man makes an assumption that he either just got up or he got tired of waiting to fall back asleep and started doing this instead.

He asks, casually propping an elbow atop the surface and resting a cheek on his fist, “You couldn’t sleep either, huh?”

His intern dejectedly shakes his head, fiddling with an edge piece, “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“You didn’t, my body just hates me.”

“That makes two of us,” Peter says with a grunt.

The mechanic’s eyes squint at that. The kid didn’t say that in a joking way like Tony did.

But rather in a self-deprecating way…as if he meant it.

_ Okay, something’s up. _

_ And it’s probably why he’s up at this time of night. _

“Whatcha working on?” Tony asks, keeping the conversation light in the hopes to get the tyke to say what’s on his mind.

“I, uh,” Peter says, cheeks showing a slight tinge of pink, “Found it.”

His father figure grabs the box with his free hand and looks at the design on the front, “Oh my God,” he says as he starts to giggle, “Where’d you get this?”

“I saw it on Amazon, okay? I couldn’t resist,” the kid responds, a giggle escaping him as well.

Tony’s laugh turns into a heartfelt snicker as he admires this “art” his intern bought: it’s a picture of the two of them in their suits, with Iron Man taking up one half and Spider-Man with the other, both halves separated in a diagonal.

He’s got to admit, they  _ do _ look kinda cool.

The man puts the box off to the side where they can still see it for a reference. He asks, lifting his head from his fist, “You want some help? I mean, it is a thousand pieces, after all.”

A light smile cracks across the spiderling’s face, to his hero’s satisfaction, “Go for it, I’m trying to get the edges done first.”

The next few minutes are spent in silence as they put the border together. Naturally, they miss a few that must be mixed in with the rest of the pieces so they start on the middle of the puzzle, scattering the pieces around, forming different piles of matching colors.

Neither one is the least bit tired.

“How egotistical are we that we’re putting together a puzzle of  _ ourselves?” _ Tony says.

His mentee answers with a snort, “Hey, people get their family pictures made into puzzles, what makes this any different?”

“Those are treasured memories, this is us acting like we know what we’re doing and we’re bragging about it.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Peter says with an amused smile, “Who says this isn’t  _ our _ treasured memory?”

“It’s not,” Tony says, fondly rolling his eyes, “Someone looked up pictures of us online and photoshopped us onto a puzzle to make money. You gave in to their capitalism.”

“And I have no regrets,” the tyke playfully retorts, his smile growing even wider, “Best ten bucks I’ve ever spent.”

The older genius’s eyes widen in slight offense, “This cost ten dollars? I’m worth _ten_ _dollars?”_

“Only  _ you _ would think about that.” Another snicker escapes the web-slinger, “C’mon, you gotta admit, it’s kinda fun. And if this makes me an ego-maniac then I’ll wear it proudly.”

“We’ve known each other too long, I think I’m rubbing off on ya.”

“Again, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”

_ It is. _

Another few minutes go by in relative silence aside from idle chitchat about what piece should go where. Naturally, the teenager has his priorities straight and puts their faces together first and foremost.

The billionaire, however, is getting slightly annoyed; not at the puzzle but at the kid he’s playing it with.

Something is bothering him, Tony knows that much, but he has no idea how to go about breaking down that barrier.

A couple more minutes fly by as the man gets his thoughts together, all while trying not to laugh at his kid’s face as it scrunches into concentration.

A deep sigh of despair escapes the older hero. It looks like he’s going to have to drag it out of the kid after all, “Alright, Pete, what’s going on?”

Peter looks up in confusion, accidentally dropping the piece he was holding, “Uh, nothing, I just couldn’t sleep -”

“Kid, I may not be threatening but I’m not an idiot either.” Tony softens his tone, “Look, something’s clearly on your mind and it’s just us here, no one can hear you, whatever you’re embarrassed about.”

The tyke crosses his arms on top of the table, his gaze going to the space between them and his torso. Tony can see the color in his cheeks grow more and more prominent, “Nothing leaves this room,” he says encouragingly, folding his own arms onto the surface, eyes skimming for possible puzzle matchings.

“You won’t understand,” the boy finally mutters, unconsciously tightening his grip on his arms.

“Try me, I might surprise you.”

“Doubt it,” Peter mumbles, moving his arms down to his lap, fidgeting with his fingers, “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Always. You’re starting to scare me a little bit, kid, what’s going on?”

The teen finally says, releasing a deep sigh, “It’s MJ.”

“You said things were great between you two,” Tony states, looking confused.

“They are…that’s the problem.”

“Come again?”

“I -” Peter starts, cutting himself off with another sigh, “So me and MJ, we like uh, we like kissing and stuff.”

“‘And stuff’, what stuff?” The billionaire asks instantly. He didn’t mean to sound sharp but he also isn’t anywhere near prepared to hear his kid talking about sex.

_ You’re not gonna freak out, dammit. He’s sixteen, lots of sixteen-year-olds have sex, it’s just a way of life. Everything is fiiiiiiiine. _

Peter simply shrugs, “Just stuff, like going out on dates and -” again, he cuts himself off, head snapping to meet his mentor’s, “Oh my God, not  _ that _ kinda stuff, uh no, we haven’t, we haven’t, uh…done that.”

Tony lets himself relax fully.

_ Thank fuck. _

The boy continues, “And…I don’t think I want to.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” his hero says reassuringly, “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready -”

“That’s the thing, Mr. Stark,” Peter pleads, “I don’t know if I wanna be ready.”

“Sex is a scary thing starting out, it’s normal to be nervous about it.”

“No,  _ ugh,” _ the child groans, “I knew you wouldn’t understand -”

“‘Cuz you’re beating around the bush, kiddo, just spit it out. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong -”

“It’s me,  _ I’m _ the one that’s wrong!” Peter takes a second to inhale a couple of deep breaths before he says, gaze going to his father figure’s chest, “So MJ, MJ uh, she likes to-to kiss my chest and my stomach sometimes and-and it’s nice and sweet and it tickles and…” his cheeks blush even more as he lets a small smile escape him, trailing off.

_ Ain’t that adorable, I’m about to puke rainbows. _

“And?” Tony edges on, “It sounds like you like when she does that?”

His intern nods his head, “Yeah,” that smile soon falls, “But lately, her kisses have been, have been uh, going…lower.” 

“Lower?”

_ Is this some Gen-Z lingo or some shit? _

“Yeah, lower as in…she got really close to my jeans and I stopped her.”

Tony’s eyebrows raise in alarm, “Oh,” he responds, not knowing what else to say.

_ So  _ that _ kind of lower. _

“Yeah. That, I didn’t like.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“I mean, kinda? Well, no, I said I had to work on homework and I just left. What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” Tony says, answering the rhetorical question, “You didn’t like the situation and you got out of it, you did the right thing. You can always tell her later.”

“But what do I say?”

“How you  _ feel, _ how you didn’t like that, how you’re not ready. The most important thing in a relationship is communication, if you don’t tell her how you feel, then how is she gonna know -”

“Mr. Stark, how can I tell her how I feel when  _ I _ don’t know how I feel?” Peter states, taking a couple more shaky breaths, “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

“I’m a guy, right? Ever since I knew sex existed, that’s all I’ve heard, ‘all that guys ever want is sex’, ‘guys will do anything for sex’, ‘all that guys ever  _ think _ about is sex’, I just I don’t get it, okay? Why does every guy want to have sex, why do I  _ not _ want to have sex, what is  _ so fucking great _ about sex?” The teenager’s voice starts teetering out, “Why does my girlfriend want to have sex and I don’t?”

_ Oh, shit. _

The kid goes on, “And-And guys at school, like in the locker room in P.E., they’ll talk about girls and celebrities and…stuff, like,” he pauses to take a breath, staring at the unfinished puzzle, “They feel these-these  _ things _ and,” he voice lowers significantly, “I feel  _ nothing.” _

“What do you mean, nothing?” Tony asks, keeping his tone gentle. God, how in the hell is he going to respond to this?

“Exactly that,” his protege responds, keeping his head down in what is probably embarrassment, “I don’t feel…anything. I don’t dream about having sex with someone, I don’t get turned on, I’ve never been turned on by-by anyone and apparently getting turned on is like  _ normal?” _ He briefly looks up at the older man with an expression bordering on fear, “Like,  _ nothing _ is happening ‘downstairs’, okay? And-and apparently it’s supposed to? Like, am I just a ‘late bloomer’ or something, or whatever the fuck you call it?”

“Kid -”

The boy cuts him off, with Tony not entirely sure he even heard him, “Even when I’m with MJ, I don’t get those, those  _ feelings _ that everyone else gets, I-I-I don’t get turned on, the idea of doing it highkey kinda scares me, and I just don’t have…th-the  _ urge _ to do that stuff, the urge that MJ  _ definitely _ has. And I feel awful because,” his voice gets higher as he concludes, “I feel nothing.”

The older genius feels his eyes bug out as the realization hits him and he quickly looks away before the kid sees, not wanting to make him any more freaked out than he already is.

But holy shit, it all makes sense now, Tony thinks.

_ Could he be asexual? _

Not that the man is an expert about this but he’s heard the word before, in passing.

And judging by everything Peter is saying, it all adds up. 

“Then why are you with her?” The billionaire asks, getting an idea of how to approach this.

“What?” His mentee asks, looking up at his father figure in confusion.

“If you say you feel ‘nothing’ then why are you still with her?”

Peter’s eyes widen briefly in surprise before looking back down, fitting a piece into the puzzle, “Um, well, uh,” he takes another deep breath, “I really like her. She’s amazing,” a bashful smile spreads across his face as he continues, finding another piece to the puzzle, “She’s hilarious, she’s such a smartass, it’s great.” That gets a light chuckle out of Tony while he puts in a puzzle piece himself, “And she’s really nice and sweet, and her smile, it lights up the whole room and -” he cuts himself off, cheeks blushing as if he just realized how much he rambled. 

He gives his mentor a shy smile, keeping his attention on a piece that’s in his hand as he searches for the spot it’s supposed to go.

“Now, did I say you could stop?” The mechanic asks in playful jest, returning the smile, “You’re so cute, it’s disgusting, almost as disgusting as my suit on this damn puzzle,” he gestures to the table where about half of the Iron Man suit is now complete sans the head connecting to the body.

To the older hero’s satisfaction, that elicits a small giggle out of the tyke and he continues, now on a roll with getting some of the more challenging solid-color background pieces, “But yeah, she’s-she’s smart, and she always gets annoyed about her frizzy hair but it’s actually adorable and it just fits her, y’know? And her kisses are just the best thing ever and I just…I love being around her and I love hugging her and kissing her and even if we’re just like watching TV or studying, I love watching TV and studying with  _ her, _ y’know?”

The teenager glances up at his mentor’s cheeky grin, making him give a confused one in return, “What?”

Tony looks at him, ignoring the puzzle for the moment, and resumes the position from earlier with his cheek resting against his propped up fist, “Doesn’t sound like you feel nothing to me, bud.”

“Um,” Peter starts, crossing his arms back onto the table, avoiding messing up the puzzle, his cheeks now the color of a lobster, “I guess not. But -”

“There’s no need for a ‘but’, it sounds like you really like her.”

“I do, but she likes me  _ more _ -”

“No, no she doesn’t -”

“But I don’t feel anything like  _ that.” _

“And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Peter rolls his eyes, looking unamused, “How can  _ you _ say that, I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand,” his father figure responds with a sigh, “But just because I don’t empathize, it doesn’t mean that I can’t  _ sympathize. _ I can’t imagine how frustrating all of this must be.”

“‘Frustrating’ is an understatement. I’ve, uh, I’ve thought about going to a doctor or something to get, uh,  _ it _ looked at, but then I’d have to bring May and that’s just embarrassing on so many levels -”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, you don’t need to go to a doctor,” Tony counters, holding up his hand slightly to keep him calm.

“How can you say that?” His intern retorts, “Did you not listen to anything I just said, something is  _ wrong _ -”

_ “Nothing is wrong with you,” _ the billionaire declares, keeping at a resolved tone, “Peter, there is no shame in being asexual.”

“Huh? Mr. Stark, I’m not a fucking plant -”

“Definitely not,” Tony says with a caring smile, “You’re a person, a human being who just happens to not experience sexual attraction. Therefore, my young Padawan, you might just be asexual.”

He works on the puzzle for a minute or so while his kid takes everything in, finally able to connect his alter ego’s face to his body and even get some of Spider-Man’s arm. Finally, the man hears a whisper from the spider-boy, “There’s a word for it?”

“Correctamundo,” the older genius answers casually.

“So, these feelings I don’t have…other people don’t have them either?”

“Yep, you’re not the only one. If you were, there wouldn’t be a word for it.”

“Yeah, yeah true,” Peter says quietly but full of hope, “So nothing’s wrong with me?”

“Nope.”

“And I don’t need to go to a doctor?”

_ “Nooooope,” _ Tony draws out with a smirk.

“Good, oh my God,” the teen says, sighing in relief, “I really didn’t wanna tell May about this.”

Tony hums in agreeance, “I get it, this kind of conversation doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.” He locks eyes with the spiderling, “I meant what I said, nothing leaves this room.”

“Thanks,” Peter says with another smile, starting to relax as he puts more pieces of his suit together, “For not judging me and stuff. I wanted to tell someone but you’re kinda my only option, and I was too scared to Google it ‘cuz they might tell me I got cancer or something.”

“Everything causes cancer according to Google,” Tony says with a snort, “So, how do you feel?”

Peter takes a few moments to think before he shrugs, “Myself, I guess, so pretty good. Kinda weird but I don’t  _ think _ it’s in a bad way?”

“It’s not.”

“So, there’s a word for it…there should really be a class on this shit.”

The billionaire says with a light snicker, “It’d save a lot of grief, that’s for sure.”

Peter hums an affirmative as he puts his attention back to the puzzle, making headway by finding a piece to connect the two heroes,  _ “Awwww, _ we’re connected.”

“How long have you been waiting to make that joke?”

“Since we started.”

The two of them erupt into a light giggle fit, with Tony finding a couple more pieces to fit the middle. After a few more seconds of concentration, Peter asks shyly, “What happens now?”

The man looks over at him, mindlessly holding a jigsaw piece, “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” the teenager sighs in frustration, putting his head in his hands, “I’m gonna have to tell MJ, aren’t I?”

“‘Fraid so.”

“But she’s gonna be so mad at me,” the boy cries, raking his fingers through his hair.

“You don’t know that -”

“What if she breaks up with me?” Peter’s head snaps right up to meet his father figure’s, eyes as wide as they go, “She feels those things, she wants to have sex, why wouldn’t she break up with me -”

“Because she likes and cares about  _ you.” _ Tony takes his kid’s hands and gently rests them on top of the puzzle, giving them a heartfelt squeeze before letting go, “Lemme ask you this: when did she start…insinuating stuff?”

“That kissing thing happened like last week I think.”

“And how long have you guys been together?”

“Um,” the kid takes a second to think, “Six months-ish?”

“So she  _ just _ started bringing this up last week?”

“Yeah?”

“Peter,” the mechanic starts, giving him a disbelieving smirk, “Obviously she’s not with you just because she wants sex.” 

“But what if -”

“No buts, no buts this time. While yes, I can’t read her mind, but I’m confident that she’ll at least hear you out. You gotta give her a chance and that means  _ you have to tell her. _ If you let her do something that you don’t wanna do, it’s gonna hurt both of you,  _ especially _ you.”

“But what if she does break up with me? Or-Or makes fun of me or something -”

“Then you have every right to kick her to the curb and I’ll be in the bushes filming it. Maybe we can make it go viral.”

The boy releases a hearty chuckle, casually finding another piece and snapping it into place, “Okay, I’ll tell her. I just don’t know how, y’know?”

“Yeah, I get that. Do you rip off the bandaid or drag a stick through mud?”

“Or I could do neither and just crawl under a rock and die.”

“Peter -”

_ “I know,” _ the young hero whines, repeating himself, “What if she breaks up with me?”

“That ‘kick her to the curb’ idea is still on.”

“Mr. Stark, I’m serious -”

“So am I,” Tony says solemnly before looking right in his kid’s eyes, “Kid, look at this as a good thing: if she gets upset, then you know  _ now _ that she’s not good for you, instead of finding out months later.”

“Oh, God -”

“Peter, listen to me,” the man says firmly but not unkindly, “If she gives you any grief, or breaks up with you, or what have you that's not her being supportive, don’t you  _ dare _ start thinking it’s your fault.”

“But it literally is,” Peter whines.

“No, it isn’t. Being asexual is something that you  _ are, _ if she doesn’t like it, then you guys just aren’t compatible. If she doesn’t like it,  _ it’s her fault.” _

The boy gives him a look of slight fear before looking down at the puzzle once again, propping his elbows onto the coffee table and resting his chin on his fists. 

How can that one simple gesture make his hero’s heart melt like it’s doing right now? It is scientifically impossible for this kid to not look adorable.

“Is there hope?” The teenager asks in an ever so slight whisper, eyes looking as if he’s the human equivalent to a baby deer.

And all Tony wants to do is hide him away from the rest of this cruel, cruel world.

If only it were possible.

“Kid, don’t leave before the fat lady sings, don’t back out before you give this a shot.”

“Yeah,” Peter hopelessly agrees with a huff. 

“And there is absolutely hope.” The billionaire reaches for his kid’s upper arm and gives it a heartfelt squeeze, rubbing it in comfort, “But you gotta put yourself first, you hear me? There’s no hope for anything if you’re not happy, whether you find someone or not.”

“What if I don’t?”

Tony shrugs, “Who says that’s a bad thing? I’m not with anyone and I’m doing just fine.”

“You’re happy?” The teenager whispers, looking at his father figure with innocently hopeful eyes.

The man gives him another comforting squeeze, his smile growing,  _ “Very _ happy. I got you, I got Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, I don’t really need anybody else, or  _ want _ anybody else if I’m being honest.”

“I’m happy too,” Peter says, letting a smile of his own escape him as he feels the warmth of the paternal comfort, “Even before me and MJ became boyfriend and girlfriend, I was happy when we were just friends too. And I mean, I got you, May and Ned and Spider-Man and…I’m happy.”

“That’s great, bud.” Tony continues rubbing his spider-boy’s bicep, “If this goes south, do you think you can  _ stay _ happy?”

The tyke’s grin falls, slumping slightly but his hero’s grip is keeping him upright, “I think so. I still got all of you guys, so,” he takes a deep breath, “I’ll be fine. I’ll, uh, I’ll try and say something next time we’re together.” 

He then concludes, “‘I am asexual’…that sounds so weird.” The kid puts his head in his hands, groaning as he rubs his eyes with his palms.

“Eh, you’ll get used to it. Before you know it, it’ll roll right off the tongue.”

“I hope so. As weird as it is though, it doesn’t feel  _ wrong, _ if that makes sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Tony starts to pull away but one of his protege’s hands quickly clasps around his own, so he keeps it in place, “Just rip it off like a bandaid.”

Peter groans, “I gotta do the bandaid approach or I’ll never tell her.”

“That’s just life in general.” The mechanic’s eyebrows rise with an idea, “You can call me if you want, just keep your volume really,  _ really _ low.”

“Really, you’d do that?” The boy asks, his eyes widening.

“Of course, buddy. Hey, if things don’t work out in your favor, I’ll be having some, uh,  _ choice _ words with her.”

The young hero rolls his eyes despite the grin that’s slowly coming back, “Mr. Stark -”

“I know, she’s a kid too,” Tony rolls his own eyes dramatically, “But I want you to know that you have someone in your corner, someone who loves you for  _ you, _ and wouldn’t want you to change for anything in the world.”

The kid’s cheeks turn to the most adorable shade of pink that his mentor has ever seen, making his body feel fuzzy with the kind of love that he’s only felt for barely a handful of people in his life. 

“Mr. Staaaark,” Peter says, now resting his hands on the table near the puzzle, “I love you too,” he adds on bashfully.

A grin spreads across the man’s face as he gives his protege’s arm another squeeze, “You good?”

“Yeah,” the teenager says with a mile-wide beam, nodding his head as he starts to relax, “I kinda wanna finish the puzzle.”

“Me too.” After one last squeeze, Tony lets go, their gazes going back to their egotistical puzzle, “We’ve got quite a bit done.”

“Yeah, it looks cool already.”

They work on their jigsaw for the next few minutes, working to put pieces in their proper places and huffing at the ones that don’t fit. 

“Thank you,” the child says quietly, almost humming at the satisfaction of fitting a piece that’s right in the center of other perfectly placed ones. 

Tony looks up at his kid, smiling at seeing him hunched over in concentration with his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, knowing Peter is too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

“Anytime, kid,” the older genius responds, “Anytime,” he then mumbles, trailing off. 

His gaze lingers for a few more seconds before he picks up a puzzle piece and puts it in its place soon after.

They put the rest of the puzzle together in relative silence, their eyes squinting as the early morning sun slowly rises above New York City, the rays flooding the penthouse through the closed blinds.

Tony gives the spiderling the honor to put in the last piece and a proud beam breaks out across Peter’s face when he does, admiring the two of them in all their armored glory.

“This is so cool,” the teen says, his voice unconsciously going up an octave in excitement, “It’s literally us on a puzzle.”

The billionaire can’t help but snort, “We  _ do _ look good. At least whoever made this has good taste.”

“Yeah,” Peter replies with a light giggle, “I don’t wanna mess it up.”

“Eh, let’s leave it out and show it off for a little while.”

“Sounds good -” the boy cuts himself off with a loud yawn, “I think my body finally wants to sleep.”

“Wish mine did. Why don’tcha try and get a little bit more shut-eye, huh?”

Peter nods his head as another yawn escapes him, “Yeah, you too.”

_ Like that’ll happen. _

“G’night, Mr. Stark,” the teen says as he gets up, dragging his feet as he heads to his bedroom.

“‘Night, Pete.”

_ Even though it’s seven in the morning. _

Tony stares long and hard at this damn puzzle, shaking his head at the thought that yep, this cash cow shit really does exist.

_ And it’s perfect. _

He gets up and rushes to his lab, knowing that he has some wood and gorilla glue to make this mini project work.

And when Peter comes to the lab several hours later and gawks at their puzzle tacked onto the wall to bask in its glory forever, that’s when Tony knows.

That when it comes to his kid, there’s not a damn thing he wouldn’t do. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I'm also on Tumblr @baloobird


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